Syria: UN aid convoy unable to return to Eastern Ghouta

The UN said Thursday its aid convoy was unable to return to besieged Eastern Ghouta in Syria to deliver aid.

"The UN and partners were unable to return to East Ghouta today but remain ready to deliver aid to people in need in Duma and other besieged and hard-to-reach areas in Syria," the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a tweet.

On Monday, the UN could not offload 14 out of 46 trucks carrying humanitarian supplies in Eastern Ghouta due to escalating violence.

The UN was planning to deliver the second part of aid to Douma district on March 8 if the security measures must be guaranteed in order for this to happen.

"We continue to call on all parties to immediately allow safe and unimpeded access for further convoys," OCHA said.

Eastern Ghouta, a Damascus suburb, has been under siege for the last five years and humanitarian access to the area, which is home to some 400,000 people, has been completely cut off.

In the past eight months, forces of the Bashar al-Assad regime have intensified their siege of Eastern Ghouta, making it nearly impossible for food or medicine to get into the district and leaving thousands of patients in need of treatment.